1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dental renewal procedures. More particularly, the present invention relates to kits that facilitate non-invasive dental renewal procedures by a dental hygienist or other dental technician.
2. The Relevant Technology
For over the last 15 years, the demand for dental renewal has increased due to advances in dental technology. Dental renewal includes repairing previous dental work by applying a restorative composition. This is also known as dental restoration or dental repair. For example, dental renewal includes repairing previous dental work such as repairing the bond interface between dental fillings and tooth enamel, repairing crowns or bridges, and other minor defects that do not require invasive dental procedures. Because of increased demand for dental renewal, a dentist could potentially become distracted or preoccupied by such procedures, thereby impinging on the time required for more traditional or invasive procedures, where the dentist's skills are more needed.
Dental renewal may range from extremely noninvasive to extremely invasive procedures, depending on the particular case. It is often the case that many dental renewal procedures are relatively non-invasive (e.g., Class I) and can be done relatively quickly. However, a dentist has heretofore been responsible for performing virtually all dental renewals, both invasive and noninvasive. In general, the dentist's expertise allows the dentist to know which equipment and which restorative compositions should be used for a given procedures. Second, the equipment in the dentist's office is usually widely applicable for a variety of dental procedures, and, thus, unsafe or even illegal for a dental hygienist or dental technician to operate instead of the dentist, or at least without close supervision. Where close supervision is provided by a dentist, it will be appreciated that this distracts the dentist from being able to perform other dental procedures.
Thus, it would be an improvement in the art of dentistry to provide specialized kits that facilitate specific noninvasive dental renewal procures to be safely and effectively performed by a dental hygienist or other dental technician without the immediate supervision of a dentist.